The vending machine business has been considered as a better alternative for those who are seeking freedom from the usual 9-5 working hours for some time now. It is a passive business that operates 24 hours a day (or thereabouts), even when you are not looking after them. Many individuals have tried establishing their own vending business as it can be a fantastic income opportunity.
The vision of buying a vending machine business is very attractive and owning a dispensing machine business offers some distinct opportunities for success, but there are also several strong disadvantages. Worst of all, these disadvantages are shared by both the owner and the customers.
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The first big challenge is to find the best location for your machines. This aspect is harder than it sounds. One wrong move when placing your machines in a community, such as choosing one that does not consider your product relevant or one with little traffic can lead your business to zero profit.
Another major drawback in buying dispensing machines is the cost and maintenance of the machine itself. Make no mistake in thinking vending machines are magical money-making machines. It does not free the vendor from complete responsibility. You need to keep in mind that these are machines, which means they can and will break down. Being the boss of your own business also means having total responsibility for the maintenance of the quality service your machine offers. Maintaining the quality and freshness of your products can be very time-consuming, but these efforts are essential to keeping your business going.
Here are some other downsides to including dispensing machines in your business ventures:
- The technology embedded in the machines does not allow for bargaining. Fixed prices are always applied. This might seem unfriendly for the customer, which will likely result in unfriendly revenue for the owner.
- Fraud cases can be common, especially when customers devise ways of hacking the system of the machine to dispense products by inserting foreign objects into the machine or abusing the machine itself.
- Boisterous individuals or jealous competitors might plan a scheme of vandalizing or breaking your machine. This kind of problem must be anticipated, because you may face huge losses in income as a result of these schemes. You may face the continuous dispensing of a product as a result of technical errors, or permanent damages that may require you to purchase a new machine.
- Heavy rent imposed by management on the location of the machine may be another hindrance for this capital-demanding investment. Therefore, it is important to settle issues with your lease and be conversant with all the characteristics of the vending machine technology for business.
The issues mentioned above are just some examples of what you might need to deal with when launching and running your own dispensing machine business. You must understand the nature of the business and apply appropriate actions to solve conflicts that may arise. To learn more helpful insights on this, give us a call today.
